§ 151.21 - What criteria will BIA use to decide whether to approve a proposed Tribal Land Acquisition Area?

In general, because tribes without reservations are significantly disadvantaged, both in terms of cultural preservation and in terms of being ineligible for federal land-based programmatic funding and technical assistance, there is a presumption in favor of the tribe's need for at least some trust land. However, in determining whether to approve establishment of a TLAA, we will consider the individual circumstances of each applicant tribe, surrounding community, and affected land base. There are some standard criteria which will help direct our decision-making process. These standard criteria include:

(a) The request must be complete and contain all supporting documents;

(b) The statutory basis upon which the tribe proposes creation of the TLAA. If the tribe is the subject of a statute directing the Secretary to take some unspecified land into trust for the tribe's benefit, the tribe will enjoy a greater presumption in favor of approval of its proposed TLAA. (For example, there is statutory language such as “the Secretary shall take land into trust within the tribe's service area,” or “the Secretary shall take land into trust within X and Y counties.”)

(c) The size of the proposed TLAA in relation to the size of the tribe's membership: we will look for a reasonable connection between the amount of land the tribe wishes to take into trust, and the basic trust needs (housing, health, employment opportunities) of the tribe's membership.

(d) The relationship of the tribe to the lands located within the TLAA: we will give greater weight to a request for approval of a TLAA that encompasses lands to which the tribe has established a strong cultural, historical, and/or legal connection.

(e) The ability of the tribe and the local non-Indian community to adjust to the jurisdictional changes that will occur if the lands within the TLAA are taken into trust, including:

(1) That there are adequate arrangements for provision of police and fire protection and other emergency response for persons living within the TLAA (whether living on trust or non-trust property);

(2) That there are adequate arrangements for provision of other municipal-type services, such as garbage removal, water, sewage;

(3) That adverse impacts on local governments and communities are reasonable compared to the benefits flowing to the applicant.